GE 2017: Hello Hanoi and Good Morning Vietnam

We are staying at a beautiful hotel in Hanoi right by the town lake.  Vietnam is busy, busy, busy and crossing a street feels a lot like gambling with your life as the cars and mopeds and bicycles whizz by you - and around you - without even tapping their brakes. I am shocked that I made it through this leg with all toes intact. 

Under the theory that “he who wins the war gets to write the history books” we visited the "Hanoi Hilton," the legendary POW prison where John McCain and scores of other Americans were kept and tortured during the Vietnam War.  It is now a super creepy museum.  The cells and prison barracks are still intact (and mighty unsettling) with statues replicating the prisoners.

There is also two rooms dedicated to the American prisoners with photographs of John McCain “receiving life-saving medical treatment” (which seems to be code for “getting patched up after a particularly brutal interrogation session”) 

And staged propaganda shots of the Americans “celebrating Christmas” and “playing soccer.”  

There is also a completely uncomfortable government public awareness video – made in 1973 right after the American prisoners were released – that proudly explains how the Americans received such great and humane treatment at the prison that they repented, condemned the war and America’s evil actions, and begged the Vietnamese people for forgiveness.  Obviously there were true atrocities on both sides in that war (as in every war) and we were not saints, but the victor’s spin is remarkably disconcerting.

We also went to the Water Puppets show: a stunningly awful theatrical experience with unique cultural flair.  

There are no words… just music with lots of clinking and screechy instruments.  And the puppets are manipulated by puppeteers who stand thigh deep in water behind a screen while they move the puppets on and through the water.  If there is a plot, it flew straight by me.  Although in one scene it did appear that the puppets were planting rice – which grew tall and thick. And there were several scenes with a smoke breathing dragon who seemed to like to dance.  Can’t say I got more than that.  But it is a truly one-of-a-kind cultural event and there were several scenes with dancing girl puppets who waved their arms a lot.

How about a dodgy massage story?  On this leg, we get scavenge points for getting a massage.  Sounds great.  So, when we were walking on a pretty nice street, we saw a lady standing by a sandwich board that announced spa options.  She was in front of an upscale boutique so I thought maybe the spa was in the back of the shop.  

We approached, bartered a price and then she grabs me by the hands and leads Rainey and I down a back alley – turning left at the dead, plucked rooster – and up 4 flights of stairs to a dingy apartment with 2 children in the living room and into a spare bedroom with 2 massage tables.

Granny shows up (who is either 101 or 945 years old) and the two of them proceed to pummel Rainey and me within an inch of our lives.  Actually was a pretty decent massage despite the totally sketchy surroundings.

Late dinner was at KOTO – a restaurant that “does good.”  The name comes from the phrase “Know One, Teach One” and it’s a program where local chefs and restaurant workers volunteer their time at this café to train young, at-risk teens in cooking and waitressing etc.  The KOTO restaurant is their classroom and job, all rolled into one.

Day 2 in Hanoi started with sunrise Tai Chi with the old ladies in the park.  Nimble octogenarians and me.

Rainey and I decided today to put the competition on hold for the day and go off and do something that was NOT a scavenge but which has long been on my bucket list: Ha Long Bay. So – for no points – we spent 4 hours (each way) in a bus and then five hours on a boat cruising in the bay. But boy was it worth it. A true DOUBLE WOW.  Ha Long Bay is a series of oddly shaped and sharply pointed islands rising from the water.  It was the setting for one of the final scenes in the James Bond movie "Man with a Golden Gun."

There is a complicated mythology tale about the bay which involves dragons and demons and missing teeth, but in reality, the island were formed when tetonic shifts lifted what had been underwater to above water.  The result is stunning.

Called “The Kiss”, although without any of the gold fleck of Klimt's masterpiece, these two rocks actually don’t touch but, from this angle, do appear to be in an embrace.

Last stop on the cruise was to a huge and very beautiful cave.  Stalagtites and stalagmites and quartz swirls as well as an eerie visual of “sunlight” as the concentrated sun beam filters down to the cave depth.  This cave would give Carlsbad caverns a real run for their money.  It was a truly lovely day.

Last scavenge before check-in:  Taxi driver roulette.  You ask a taxi driver to take you to one of his favorite restaurants where only locals eat... and then you dine there.  Our driver chose a Pho place (thank goodness, as Pho is a noodle based soup where everything is boiled and theoretically can't hurt you). But bonus ... our Pho came with pork stomach.  Yikes !!!

Observation: When Hong Kong upgrades its infrastructure, they put in elevated side-walks where the pedestrians are high above the city so nobody has to cross a street or risk injury in the traffic. That's 21st century city living.

Meanwhile, in Hanoi, this is the power line system.  And, yes, it was a scavenge (worth 20 points) to document some of the more egregious electricity nightmares.  My personal favorite, because it is so clearly a fire waiting to happen:

Rankings: In case anyone cares about the actual competition rankings, at the end of the Hong Kong leg, Rainey and I are in first place. 

Second place is TSA Precheck, a couple from LA in the movie business. We did their peer review, which means we were the team who checked their photos and documentation from Hong Kong to prove they actually did what they claimed.  This is a strong team. They are up early, in bed late and are having a ton of fun along the way.

Third place is the father / daughter Ying team. Alan speaks Mandarin so he had a slight advantage on the Hong Kong leg but they stayed out doing challenges until 2:30AM the first night so they clearly have the stamina for the competition.  And the adventure spirit  ... as Sydney even took on the challenge of finding and riding a water buffalo.

Fourth is the Slo Folks (SLO standing for San Luis Obispo from whence they hail) who still have my bet for winning the whole event as they are steady, consistent competitors. 

And the Traveling Bohemians (Greg and Catherine Cervenka) clocked in at 7th place.

Next country:  We found out tonight – when the Vietnam leg closed - that we leave in the morning  for Sri Lanka with a 7 hour lay-over scavenge leg in a still-unknown country.  We will not learn our first destination until tomorrow morning but we know that we will end up in Sri Lanka late tomorrow night.